Tibet's Shigatse rocked by 6.8 magnitude earthquake: China quake centre

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale jolted Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city, early on Tuesday morning, sparking concern across the region.

The tremor struck at precisely 9:05 am local time (0105 GMT), according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre.

The quake had an epicentre depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the report added. Tremors were felt as far away as Nepal's capital Kathmandu some 400 km (250 miles) away, according to Indian media, where residents reportedly ran from their houses.

A magnitude 6.8 quake is considered strong and is capable of causing severe damage.

Southwestern parts of China are frequently hit by earthquakes. A huge quake in Sichuan province in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.

According to China's state broadcaster CCTV, there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or higher within 200 km of the Shigatse quake in the past five years, all of which were smaller than the one that struck on Tuesday morning.

In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Kathmandu in neighbouring Nepal, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands in that country's worst earthquake.